The rich and musical Italian language has been called “La Bella Lingua” for centuries and with good reason. Its bewitching words flow smoothly off the tongue, sound lovely to the ear and overall create an atmosphere that is both warm and charming. In addition, the culture of Italy is resplendent with beautiful art, wonderful food and fascinating history.
Perhaps you would love to learn Italian but let’s face it: Modern life is hectic, and often attending a class week after week is just out of the question. You might not have the money for tuition, or maybe you do not have a schedule that permits taking classes that are held at set times. Hiring a private tutor would be ideal, but that option generally is quite costly.
This is where buying software to learn Italian on your own can come to the rescue. You can study at your own pace, in your own home and at a price that is affordable. An additional benefit to buying instructional software to learn any language is the fact that you always will have it available, so you can return to it again and again for quick refresher sessions, unlike a class or tutor whose services ultimately end. We have found the best products to be Tell Me More Italian, Rosetta Stone Italian and Italian Complete Edition.
The software applications to learn Italian on the market today can provide you with instruction in reading, writing and speaking Italian. They also offer skills in grammar and vocabulary building, and even delve into the culture of Italy. Often, these applications feature interactive exercises, games, videos and speaking practice sessions that make the lessons lively and the entire process enjoyable as well as educational.
If you already are taking an Italian language class, a software application is a fine supplement to coursework, since many Italian language software applications offer speech recognition tools that "listen" to your pronunciation, pinpoint mistakes and offer corrections.
On this website, you will find articles on learning Italian and reviews of software designed to teach the language to help you make informed decisions about which is best for you. At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don't Have To.™
In order to be effective, software needs to have the right combination of features and tools that, together, cover all the fundamentals. Obviously, the application should be easy to use because you want to spend more time learning Italian than navigating the menus. Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate the products we reviewed:
Features
The software should offer ways to track progress and adjust the curriculum accordingly. Compatibility with mobile devices makes the application useful on the road.
Fundamentals
The best software for learning how to speak Italian should teach you how to read and write in Italian. It should help you focus on pronunciation and include exercises specifically designed to build your vocabulary. Software intended to help you learn Italian also should include Italian grammar training.
Ease of Use
The software should be simple to use and its processes should be intuitive, even for individuals who are not particularly tech savvy.
Teaching Tools
The methods for teaching Italian must be effective and fun. Things like audio, video, speech recognition, word recognition activities and culture lessons are the most important tools, though there are many others.
Help & Support
There should be a help section built directly into the application, which should be well written, organized and not too technical. Italian language software should also have tutorials available to explain difficult concepts. The language software manufacturer should offer telephone or online technical support.
No matter how busy your life is, software that helps you learn Italian can easily turn your language capabilities from marginal to magnifico.